Micron's Elpida buy approved by Tokyo court

SAN FRANCISCO—Micron Technology Inc. said Wednesday (Oct. 31) its plan to acquire bankrupt Japanese DRAM vendor Elpida Memory Inc. was approved for submission to Elpida's creditors by the Tokyo District Court.

The court's approval does not finalize the deal, but is sees as an important step in the process. Micron's bid must still be approved by Elpida's creditors and must receive regulatory clearance in other countries, Micron said. The company expects the deal to be completed in the first half of 2013.

In June, Micron reached a $2.5 billion deal to acquire Elpida, which filed for bankruptcy early this year. The deal includes $750 million to pay off a fraction of Elpida's debt to creditors at closing and another $1.75 billion to be paid in annual installment payments through 2019 to satisfy the claims of Elpida's creditors.

A group of Elpida debt holders has fought Micron's bid, saying it undervalues Elpida's assets. According to Micron, the Tokyo District Court confirmed that the competing plan submitted by those debt holders will not be submitted to creditors for approval.

According to a report by the Reuters news service, the group of bond holders said in a statement that it would continue to vote against the Micron acquisition and urge others to do the same. They said they would continue to fight the Micron takeover in the Japan, U.S., and other applicable courts, according to the report.

"This is an important step forward in the reorganization process," said Micron CEO Mark Durcan, in a statement. "The combination of Micron and Elpida will create the world's second largest memory company with the strongest product portfolio in the industry."